The Return of the Gods
by God of Madness
Summary: The day off Elsa's coronation is here. All she has to do is suppress her power for one day, and then she can go back, to protect them, to protect her...The day of Elsa's coronation is here, and its time to meet an old friend, one that he hasn't seen in a long time.


The snow was cold, the little water that still flowed was cold, the air was cold, hell even the trees were cold. But he wasn't. He was warm, even in his barefoot state, his skin was warm. No, not warm, hot, blazing even. His tattered pants held up by rope showed burn marks on the legs, exposing his legs up to the shin, and his tattered shirt and hooded shawl with the hood down, both designed for much hotter climates, were covered in soot and had the ends frayed and singed, the sleeves gone up to the biceps and forearms covered in wraps. He walked, and where his feet fell, the snow melted an steamed. Coming to a ridge, he stared down into a fjord, and the kingdom of Arendelle, for the first time in forever, bustling with activity. Ships from across the land, from the Southern Isles to the Scottish tribes docked in the harbor. All for the once in a lifetime occurrence, the opening of the Arendelle Castle gates and the coronation of Queen Elsa, whom was locked away 16 years prior, along with her sister Anna for unknown reasons. They and him came for the same event, but for different motivations. These guests came to celebrate new royalty and the opening of a locked castle.

But not him.

.

.

.

Princess, no, Queen Elsa, stared over the ballroom and the many guests it held. On the outside, she was smiling, enjoying her time before the weight of the crown weighed on her head. But inside she was a nervous wreck. Over a decade of isolation had made her socially inept, something she could never show, especially now. Having only met her sister for the first time since she was locked away, she saw her disappear into the crowd. She allowed herself a moment of breath, only for Anna to return with a man in tow. Elsa tried to make sense of what she was saying, but only made out that him and Anna were getting married and his name was Hans.

From there everything began to spiral out of control, from her rejecting Anna's marriage and then the removal of her glove, her inner anxiety, and her little control of her power became erratic. Asking Anna to leave was the final straw, with her leaving and ending the ball only for her hand to be grabbed, shocking her and unconsciously releasing her power.

The crowd, who were once smiling and congratulating her, was now staring at her in shock, and fear. Terrified that her secret was exposed, she turned and ran for the door. She had to leave, she had to get out of Arendelle, away from Anna. So frantic was she that she didn't see the man who hand entered the doorway to the ballroom.

Running into his chest, she was knocked back onto the ground, a bit dazed but fine, she looked upon who she ran into, only to see a vagrant looking man with singed clothes and a smirk on his face, his coal black hair running wild down his back. "Leaving so soon? But the party seems to be just starting!" He said, looking down on her with a look of smugness.

Immediately two guards, she recognized as Tobias and Arthur, the only two guards who knew about her secret, ran to her aid. Tobias, the taller, broader of the two, stepped up to intimidate the man, only to feel off put as he felt dwarfed by the man's size and stature. Arthur had run to her side to assist her. "Your Majesty! Are you hurt?!" He asked. "Aw c'mon. It's insulting to ask someone like her if she's hurt by a mere stumble." The man said before she could speak. "No more games! Now explain yourself and your business here!" Tobias yelled in his face. His smirk only seemed to widen.

"Alright, suppose introductions are in order. My name is Ild, but some call me Surtr, and the reason I've come, is for Skadi. Or, whatever her name is now." The now named Ild said. 'Skadi? Who's Skadi?' Elsa thought to herself. The name was familiar to her, as well as Surtr, but she knew for a fact that she had never heard those words in her life. "But it seems that some upstart hero wannabes are getting in my way." He said before grabbing the face of Tobias and lifting it off the ground. Next thing she knew, Tobias was screaming and a uncomfortable heat spread over her. She looked to Tobias only to find him burning in the grasp of Ild. He screamed in the beginning but was quickly silenced as he crumbled to ash in his hands. Even the sword he carries was naught but dust. Immediately Arthur put her on her feet, drew his sword and lunged to stab him. But was stopped in his tracks as Ild grabbed and melted the blade, then sent a burning backhand to his face, scorching the left half of his face and sending him flying into a wall. Now unimpeded, he walked up to the Queen.

"Now then, where were we?" He asked. His response was a blast of ice to his chest. Meanwhile, the crowd had dispersed When Ild had burned Tobias alive, all of them running for the exit, all had managed to escape, all except the Duke of Weasolton, Anna and Hans. They couldn't escape because a guard became fearful and locked the entrance to the ballroom, locking everyone inside. "The sorceress bitch, she's the cause of all this." The duke muttered to himself, then looking toward Anna. "YOU! What other secrets are you hiding?! Is this all some scheme?! A pagan sacrifice?! A necromantic act?!" The short man yelled as she shook the princess angrily. Anna could say little as she too was coming to terms with all that happened. First she found her sister after all this time, then she turns out to have powers of ice, and now some guy called with fire magic is coming in here, burning people alive then saying he came for her sister. Oh, did she mention her sister had ICE POWERS?!" SINCE WHEN?!

Meanwhile Hans was trying to pry the door open but found no such luck. Giving up, he came to his fiancés aid and pried the duke off of her. "That's enough, arguing will get us nowhere! Right now, we have to find a way out or that Ild guy will come for us." He said. "But what about Elsa?!" Anna yelled. "What about her?! She's the cause of this! I say we get all the guards and slaughter the both of them!" The duke yelled. "No! I won't let you hurt my sister. We...we must have faith in her! She can use her power to stop him! Look!"

They turned to where Anna was pointing and found the sound of wind and a wave of cold came over them. At source, they found the man, Ild, encased head to toe in ice and Elsa, both gloves removed, the cause of this. Elsa has a fearful look on her face as she stared at what she believed to be a corpse. For a moment they let out a breath, believing it was over, only for dread to return as the ice began to crack and melt, then explode outward, followed by waves of fire. The three braced themselves, only to feel nothing. There stood Ild, steam coming off of him and that smirk still present. And the other four stood there, walls of ice half melted but standing between them and the waves of flame. "Interesting, it seems that your ice can act of its own accord. It definitely wasn't conscious decision from you." Ild spoke. "But still, those three will be a problem, they're gonna get in our way." He said as he turned to Anna, Hans and the Duke. In a shocking display of speed, leaving a trail of flames in his wake, he appeared in-front of the Duke, his arm stabbed through his chest and alight in flame!

The duke had never felt such pain in his life. He felt everything, the pain of the hole, the fire cooking his organs, the loss of blood. It was a quick death to everyone else, but his mind dragged his agony out for what seemed like minutes. Dropping the corpse, the blood already evaporated, he turned to Hans and Anna. But before he could do anything, another blast of ice pelted him, knocking him over and giving the two sometime to retreat to another part of the ballroom. "Your fight is with me remember." She said with, still having the scared expression, but not as bad as before, and each word spoken was with an unseen malice. Her hair had fallen out of her bun and fell loose behind her, and frost crawled along the ground across the ballroom. "Finally, now we can get started!" Ild yelled, igniting his arms and rushing to Elsa. Counting a storm of ice, she sent it at him, slowing him but not stopping, he barreled into her, tackling her to the ground, just to blasted with ice again, this time strong enough to have him hit the ceiling. Using the force of gravity, he redirected his force into a dive, lit his fist on fire and sent it into another ice wall that Elsa created.

"Elsa, please stop him!" Anna yelled as she saw the two duel. All she wanted was to finally explore the world outside the castle, but now there might not even be a castle left to explore the outside of! Meanwhile Hans hid behind a pillar, his mind alight with panic. His original plan was in ruins, he was to become a king dammit! He would finally be out of his older brother's shadows and make a name for himself! But then this freak had to meet another freak and now he didn't know if he was going to be burned or frozen to death! He had to find a way out. Anything! Most likely these two will kill each other, but then all it would take is to kill Anna, spin a story and assume power. Yes, now all he needed was a way out.

Anna continued to watch as the two empowered individuals battled, but it was clear who was winning. Every time Elsa conjured something, it was immediately destroyed by Ild, then Ild would rush her, attack, only for it to be blocked by a hastily created ice block. Elsa had power yes, but she never used it. She lives in fear of her powers and suppressed them. But this Ild was the opposite, he not only had power, but control of it as well. His fire was controlled, while at the same time wild. His use of it was practiced and disciplined. Each strike was precise and strong. Each time fire was blasted, it was sent in a way of complete control. Elsa was just flinging ice around hoping it would work or summoning something in a quick bid of protection. Anna saw this, and gasped as an ice dome shattered, and Ild's first went clear into Elsa's face, knocking her down and out. On the floor, Elsa looked over and saw Anna, kneeling behind a pillar, fear written all over her face.

Ild stood over her, but the smirk was gone, replaced with a frown of disappointment. "Really? Is this all the great Skadi can do? I really am disappointed." He said. Then, a look came over his face. Noticing where Elsa was looking. "But maybe, all you need is a little…motivation to get things started again." He said as he turned and walked over to Anna, leaving a trail of burning footprints in his wake. Hans, in a desperate bid to escape and completing a hastily made plan, waited behind a pillar, a dagger in hand. Whatever his plan was never had the chance, as Ild simply sent a thin streak of fire through the pillar, burning a hole straight through it, and Hans' head. He never knew what caused his death.

Anna could only stare in terror at Ild and began to scream when he picked her up by the throat and began to heat his hand, slowly burning her throat and neck.

Elsa saw this and could do nothing. Her face hurt, her head hurt, she felt burnt and she didn't know what happened. She looked at Anna, the haze fading as she listened to her screams of pain. The man, no, the monster, Ild, held her by the throat, his hand glowing red as he burnt her, smoke and the stench of burning flesh wafting from the boiling flesh beneath the monster's palm. Her screaming stopped, and she went limp. Elsa, watched as the form of her sister, the one she never had the chance to know, the one she abandoned, the one she failed… die.

And her world went white.

Ild held the limp form of the girl in his hand. He had to admit this was going a little far, but he was done with her now as he felt the temperature in the room drop. "Ah, there you are Skadi. I must say it's been a while since we last met." He said as he turned around to face her. Where once Elsa stood, a new being now resided. It had the shape and form a woman but was far from it. Made entirely out of crystalline ice that shimmered and shined like masterfully crafted glass. Her face was featureless save for two pure white eyes, each holding a miniature blizzard. Her hair turned into a mass of spiked ice, running down to the small of her back. Her arms were ending in large claw like hands, and her legs were long and ended into skate like feet. She said nothing, only pointed at him. Next Ild knew was that he was impaled on multiple ice spikes that sent him through the roof and into open air. "Ah, I missed this side of you." Was all he said, ignoring the multiple spires impaling him, before being completely engulfed in fire. Skadi created an ice bridge up to the now burning ballroom's roof, which had the people of Arendelle infatuated and terrified. As the flames died down, it revealed a being that seemed to be made entirely of fire. The top half of its head was shaped as a skull with two large horns sprouting out of each side of his head, his bottom half a fully formed jaw, the only other noticeable fact was that he wore no clothes and his physique had increase substantially, each arm the size of tree trunks. Skadi only said one word, her voice changed, sounding with the power of a mountain, but with the grace and beauty of a winter's gale. "Surtr." Before she sent two large but razor-sharp snowflakes to bisect him. Surtr dodged the first, then blocked the second with a blade made of molten rock. The sword was large, larger than a grown man and decorated with jagged lines of molten lava, it had not point and just ended in a large fan like shape.

Unperturbed, Skadi sent a hail of icicles to him, which was then countered by a slash from the sword, evaporating all of them and sending a wave of fire at Skadi. Distracted by the ice spikes though, Surtr failed to notice Skadi skate on her ice bridge close with a spear made of ice, stabbing directly into the chest, then hurling the spear and sending him flying toward the North Mountain and she followed.

Impacting the summit, Surtr shook off the dizziness just in time to block the new spear of ice. Pushing her away, he slashed away at the Ice Goddess, to which she effortlessly dodged and evaded. He slashed again, this time hitting snow and creating a large cloud of steam. Caught off guard, Skadi was hit with the sword and sent flying into the air. Surtr followed, bashing her again with the flat of his blade, then he thrusted, a stream of fire exploding out of the end of the blade, hitting Skadi and pushing her into the summit of the mountain. Getting up, she was completely unharmed. Skadi then retaliated, a hail of razor-sharp snowflakes, him blocking most of them but a few ended up slicing his flesh, spilling boiling and molten blood onto the mountain, melting both stone and snow. Skadi then gathered a large amount of ice into her hands and sprung forth a dragon made of ice. The dragon flew forward to Surtr, who responded by creating his own creature, a winged demon to meet the dragon head on. The two godly creation met, and exploded in a glorious shower of ice, boiling water and steam. Surtr rushes again, sending a volley of hacks and slashes but all were dodged. Growing frustrated, he became more and more wild, until he left himself wide open. Using this opportunity, Skadi stabbed forward with another spear, hitting and piercing through Surtr's chest. Instantly he reverted to Ild, falling off the spear and into the snows below. Skadi followed him, standing atop a platform of ice. "You should have known better than to challenge a fellow god in their domain Surtr." She said. "Ah blow me, you used a fucking dragon." He replied. "And you, a demon." "Touché" "What were you planning Surtr?" "I was looking for the others, trying to find whose power made it out of Ragnarök, that's when I felt the three of you here." "Three?" "Yeah, turns out that sister of yours had more to her as well. She was Freja I believe, felt her when I was burning her neck. Plus, Loki was somewhere in that crowd as well. Never could flaunt himself, even when his old self is gone." "You killed her, not just Anna but a host of Freja." "Nah, I don't think she's dead. Hell, won't even have a scar. But when she comes to, you're going to have to explain why." "I will, but until she is ready, she will stay out of this." "Were gods you know, we have their power, their memories, hell we may even still be them, just different." "We may have their power and memories, but we are still our own selves. I am Elsa, she is Anna, and you are Ild."

"Yeah, but eventually we gotta do something. We can't just sit around pretending were mortal. Ever since Odin and the Jotun came back things have been getting a bit hectic. He believes himself to be the _actual_ Odin and to have survived Ragnarök." Ild said. "While that does pose a problem, its one that can be avoided for now. I must return to my kingdom, the one you so uncaringly threw into chaos." Elsa said before skating off back to a burning Arendelle. Left alone, Ild smirked, then turned around to face the eavesdropper. His form cloaked in the shadow of the mountain, when he stepped into the light, it revealed the 13th Prince of the Southern Isles, Hans, looking none to pleased. "Ah, there you are, _Loki._"

…

Elsa returned to a kingdom in chaos. The flames from the castle had spread to the rest of the city, which Elsa immediately put out with her power before she even landed. Upon reaching the ground, she undid her godly form, returning to the blonde-haired queen, then collapsed into a heap. Immediately, guards who were holding back a crowd of citizens rushed to help her. Waving off her helpers, Elsa turned to the crowd in tears. "Everyone, I'm sorry." She began. "I had brought this upon all of you, I kept this hidden, because... I was afraid, because I was weak, because I didn't know." She paused. "The power I bear was always one that haunted me, but when the time came that I would need it, it failed me, and I failed you. Now many people lie dead, and there is no one to blame but me. I have no right to be your queen." She finished. The crowd could only stare, but then a guard pushed through. It revealed to be Arthur, still alive, his face half bandaged and burnt, but alive. "Your Majesty... do not blame yourself for this. No one could have predicted that, that thing would come here." He began at her, but then addressed the crowd. "She was the one who chased that monster away, she was the one who saved Arendelle, and made the deaths of the Duke and Prince Hans not in vain. She saw the monster before her and used her power to save the rest of us, regardless of her fear of it. She nearly sacrificed herself to stop him, and now she begs for our forgiveness, when she has righter to ask for praise." The crowd listened to every word, convinced by the guard's loyalty and charisma. "ALL HAIL QUEEN ELSA! QUEEN OF SNOW! AND SAVIOR OF ARENDELLE!" Arthur shouted, then kneeled. The rest of the crowd then, slowly, began to kneel as well. Elsa could only stare, speechless at what she was seeing. But was broken out of it by shouting.

"ELSA!" She heard Anna yell. Looking to the steps of the castle, she saw Anna running towards her. "ANNA!" She yelled back. The two ran to each other than embraced when they met. "Oh, I'm so glad your alright!" Elsa practically cried. "I'm fine, but Elsa, what-""Look, we have a lot to talk about, I'll explain everything soon, but right now isn't the best time." She cut her off. "Alright. But I'm getting that explanation first chance." She said.

The two sisters then left for the inn the guards had set up as temporary lodging for the two sisters. But everyone knew the future was different now. With what was shown to have happened with Ild and Elsa, the future of Arendelle, and even the world was unknown, but one thing is for sure.

Things are just heating up.


End file.
